Customer Reviews

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

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I really had to struggle with what rating to give this. Simon Sinek's idea is astoundingly insightful, very helpful, and definitely worth the price of this book let alone the Kindle price. I'm inclined to think that the world would be considerably better off if more people lived by Sinek's simple idea.

On the other hand, the book is agonizing in its redundancy, often repeating the same examples many times over to make precisely the same point as the first time the example was used. I'm inclined to think that virtually everything Sinek wrote could have been stated in a 20-page article without leaving out anything important. I daresay it might be possible to do it in five pages. That's part of the beauty of the idea: it's incredibly simple while still being astoundingly powerful. But Sinek doesn't seem to have bothered taking the time to distill the idea down into its essence for straightforward presentation in this book. It reads a little bit like he took articles from his blog, stuck them in a large word-processing document, did some minor editing, and submitted the thing as-is for publication in order to create this book.

So, the idea is worth the cost of the book and the time to read it, but the book itself is, in my humble opinion, very poorly organized and needlessly long.

I would advise those who are interested in Sinek's ideas save themselves a great deal of time and a little expense by first watching his TED Talk:

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This covers virtually all the core ideas involved. The one thing Sinek never does either in this presentation or in his book is spell out what "HOW" is. It's a bit confusing in large part because it's different for each of the two communication structures. In the "WHAT --> HOW" structure, "HOW" is "how we're different"; for instance, Dell has to argue that its computers are somehow better than (say) HP's and therefore specifies HOW they're better in order to compete against HP. On the other hand, in the "WHY --> HOW --> WHAT" structure, "HOW" is "how we enact our purpose (i.e. our 'WHY')".

As far as I can tell, if you're reasonably intelligent you can glean pretty much everything essential to Sinek's idea based on his TED Talk together with this understanding that "HOW" means something different in each of the two contexts he contrasts.

What you WON'T get from that is his rather in-depth, incredibly clear exposé of why the "WHAT --> HOW" communication pattern requires manipulating people to some degree or another and why that is by necessity unsustainable in the long run. That's not core to his point but it's certainly a nice supplement.

So in short, the book is a reasonable buy, certainly at the Kindle price, but do consider benefitting from Sinek's wisdom for free in 20 minutes first by watching his TED Talk. If you want more details, you can get the book, but understand that you're not likely to learn much more than what you could have figured out on your own between the talk and what I mention above.

Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" is a must read for any entrepreneur or leader struggling to create a long-term vision and guiding principles for their company or cause. The book can provide just the inspiration needed to get started in the right direction. You'll learn that the most important thing you can do as a leader is to figure out why your company or organization exists and why that should be meaningful to customers and others in society. Once the answer to this becomes clear and you believe it in your heart, the rest of the decisions about what to do and sell and how to do it become infinitely easier.

For those faced with competition, price-war and customer churn, Sinek's book can provide great insights for developing a new long-term strategy to combat these issues once-and-for-all. Sinek explains that while your product's features may be replicated and commoditized, no one can copy the kinship and confidence that your customers feel when doing business with you. This is because those feelings come from intangible values and beliefs that only you share with your customers.

How does one create such kinship with customers? The book explains the Golden Circle concept, which shows business leaders how to inspire instead of manipulating customers or employees to act. Sinek explains that trust is built naturally when you target customers that understand and believe in your WHY. So, if getting repeat and word-of-mouth business is important to you, then use inspiration, not manipulation to get the sale. Also, when business leaders properly articulate their company's WHY to employees, it makes it easier for the employees to believe in what they are selling. When sales reps sound authentic, it builds trust and loyalty with customers. It all starts with WHY.

In light of the last decade of greed and short-term trading mentality with little regard for future consequences, I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with Sinek's observations that there are no short cuts to long-term success. Manipulation may help achieve short term results, but long-run success is only achievable when leaders are ready to make short run sacrifices/investments and willing to account for long-term impact of their decisions from the start. There is much that our universities and MBA programs can do to teach these principles to the next generation of leaders. All and all, this book left me truly inspired. Beyond the tons of practical business insights, the mental framework that "Start with Why" provides can also make anyone a better communicator as a mother, father, husband, boss or just a decent human being.

Fortunately, this book is not one in the long list of books with simplistic and universal formulas to master and follow for success. This book is about knowing yourself and looking within before moving forward in a professional career or at the beginning of some endeavor. What I saw as a weakness in the book, however, was the continual reference to the same companies or personalities, often stating the same point, throughout the book. A reference to other companies would serve as an indicator that Sinek is aware that other companies such as Patagonia, Mountain Hardware, PerotSystems, etc., also began with "Why" and have a loyal following. Sometimes I felt I was reading an extended version of a seminar but again, I still enjoyed reading the book in spite of that feeling. For individuals or companies that have lost their way this is a good book to begin with in order to reestablish your purpose.

As an avid reader of Simon Sinek's blog, I have been eagerly awaiting his book, START WITH WHY. I am a small business owner who had grown tired of the typical marketing advice that spells out how to manipulate people into buying your products. START WITH WHY blows that advice out of the water and, instead, encourages business people to succeed with inspiration and integrity.

Every business owner should take the time to read this book and drill down as far as necessary to discover his/her WHY. It does indeed cause you to rethink your business and the message you are sending the world about what you do.

HIGHLY recommended!

Every bookstore is filled with business books that tell you WHAT to do and HOW to do it. They often seem to give contradictory recommendations. This WHY book will resolve many of the apparent paradoxes and put you on your path.

The truth is most people are too busy doing to think about the most important question which is WHY they are doing. It is likely thinking through the examples in the book you will discover why you are working too hard for your results and more importantly be able to concentrate on achieving far more with far less effort.

Want to know why people love some companies and not others, why it usually takes 2 guys in a garage, why some companies soar and others crash? It's in there.

A note on what is not in the book. There are no 7 steps to accomplishing anything you want. What and how you do things are up to you, once you figure out the why. But again there are no shortages of other books and people who can help with that.

A final note, this is a business book, but the applications extend far beyond business.

I love this book. According to Simon Sinek, one simple thing can make your business run better. It can make your employees happier. It can make your customers more loyal. It can even turn your suppliers into partners. Simon reverse engineers the most successful companies in the world to find out why they are successful. The reason is simple - they understand why they exist and they share that reason with everyone. This emotional connection, a relationship based on mutual allegiance to a cause, is part of our biology and is rooted in the part of our minds that controls decision making. As a practical matter, if you understand how people make decisions, you have the opportunity to create alignment and mutual success. Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to feel like they matter. If you start with why, everyone will win.

This book has made me think about things very differently. Unfortunately, I arrived at the message after watching the video on TED and by examining the case studies/examples. The book is not succinct, wanders and seems to repeat itself and ramble which is unfortunate as mastering the central theme "Why" is really a life changing event. Maybe it just needs to be re-edited.

I agree with Simon Sinek that individuals as well as organizations must have a crystal clear sense of purpose or it will be very difficult (if not impossible) for them to decide what to do and how to do it. If they have the right purpose, it will guide and inform their decisions and, meanwhile, inspire and then sustain their efforts. Sinek suggests that the Golden Circle "helps us to understand why we do what we do. [It] provides compelling evidence of how much more we can achieve if we remind ourselves to start everything we do by asking why." In brief, here is Sinek's outside-in explanation:

"Every single company and organization on the planet knows WHAT they do...Everyone is easily able to describe the products or services a company sells or the job function they have within that system. WHATs are easy to identify."

"Some companies and people know HOW they do WHAT they do...Not as obvious as WHATs, many think these are the differentiating or motivating factors in a decision. It would be false to assume that's all that's required. There is one missing detail."

"Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do...By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?"

Brief digression: Whenever I meet with a new client's marketing team, I go around the table and ask each person to answer three simple questions. One after another around the table, they have no problem answering the "first two: "Who are you?" and "What do you do?" So far, so good. Then I ask the third question and the subsequent silence is deafening: "Why should I care?" Eventually, one brave soul finally responds, citing and praising functions, features, benefits, etc. Without the right WHY, a company's customers won't care. Worst yet, without the right WHY, a company's employees won't care.

Credit Sinek with a thorough coverage and brilliant analysis of issues inherent to statements such as these:

o "People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it."

o "Those whom we consider great leaders all have an ability to draw us close and to command our loyalty. And we feel a strong bond with those who are also drawn to the same leaders and organizations."

o "A WHY is just a belief. That's all it is. HOWs are the actions you take to realize that belief. And WHATs are the results of those actions - everything you say and do: your products, services, marketing, PR, culture, and whom you hire."

o " You have to earn trust by communicating and demonstrating that you share the same values and beliefs. You have to talk about your WHY and prove it with WHAT you do. Again, a WHY is just a belief, HOWs are the actions we take to realize that belief, and WHATs are the results of those actions. When all three are in balance, trust is built and value is perceived."

o "Charisma has nothing to do with energy; it comes from a clarity of WHY. It comes from absolute conviction in an ideal bigger than oneself. Energy, in contrast, comes from a good night's sleep or lots of caffeine. Energy can excite. But only charisma can inspire. Charisma commands loyalty. Energy does not"

o "What companies say and do matters. A lot. It is at the WHAT level that a cause is brought to life. It is at this level that a company speaks to the world and it is then that we can learn what the company believes."

I hope that these brief, representative excerpts from Sinek's narrative suggest the thrust and flavor of his thinking. Here in a single volume is just about all that any business leader needs to determine precisely what her or his organization's WHY is...or should be. Sinek also provides a wealth of information, insights, and recommendations as the alignment and coordination of the organization's WHAT and HOW with its WHY.

Without the right WHY, even great leaders cannot inspire everyone in the given organization to take action. Only with the right WHY can an organization develop great leadership at all levels and in all areas of its operation.

I've been coaching & mentoring entrepreneurs around the world for years. I have CEOs that I mentor in 5 countries. This book will be a must read for them and their teams.

I was lucky to be exposed to Simon and his content years ago and have anxiously awaited it in book format so that I can begin sharing it with others. Just purchased yet another copy today to give to another CEO.

My Why - "helping entrepreneurs make their dreams happen" was developed using Simon's formula and his book Start With Why will also make it easier for me to help the entrepreneurial companies I'm mentoring to figure out theirs too.

Must read - in fact - buy a few to give away.

....helping entrepreneurs make their dreams happen.

Cameron Herold
Founder
BackPocket COO
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I am a small business owner & have read everything from "The Art of the Start" to "Good to Great" - and everything in between. "Start with Why" is a must-read for anyone responsible for managing, leading and inspiring people. From the type of people who we ask to join our team, to the clients we work with and the relationships we form with them, identifying and communicating our WHY has been a game-changer.